Less Zest For The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks In Japan

It’s no secret The Legend of Zelda: The Spirit Tracks, Nintendo’s latest entry in the Zelda series, had little fanfare surrounding its release. The press was far more interested in the idea of a new Wii installment. Still, the game was quite enjoyable and managed to improve upon many of the criticisms lodged against its predecessor, The Phantom Hourglass. While gross sales numbers are nothing to scoff at (2.45 million copies worldwide), it might come as a surprise to many to know that stores have already put the game in the bargain bin.

Spirit Tracks’ original retail price was around 4900 yen ($55), but it can now be had for under 2000 yen ($22) – roughly $33 off. Mid-January the game was slashed to about 3000 yen, but clearly that was to no avail as stores are still overstocked with the “Triforce Terror”.

While this might take some by surprise, it’s actually becoming more and more common with game stores in Japan, especially for Wii and DS software. And yes, those in-the-know will quickly notice Toshinden next to Zelda in the picture; another game that has been slashed to pocket change.